Interest Check: Sietch Book Club

[Bear Ribs]

Check to see if we have enough readers interested in getting a Book Club going.

For those not familiar with them, a Book Club is just a group that all read the same book at the same time to make discussing and reviewing easier and more straightforward. Typically they have a theme, which here would be SF & Fantasy stuff, and have a vote once a month for the next month's book, then everybody reads said book and posts their thoughts and progress on it. If you don't finish, well, there's always next month and not everybody loves every book enough to finish.

So who'd be down for this?

 

[Lord Sovereign]

Count me in.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

 

[Bear Ribs]

Alright, looks like we got some decent interest here. Imma propose our ground rules:

First week each month used to vote for the book, then reading and discussion the rest of the month.

One book nomination per person. If the club gets too large we'll discuss capping that but I don't think it's a problem yet. Avoid NSFW, terrible-to-read options like machine translations, and books that are just way too long to read in the appropriate timeframe. Try to pick things that are readily available, preferably in multiple formats, so that it's easier for everybody to find a copy.

Posts should include how far you are into the book before the spoiler so people who haven't read as much can avoid it.

My nomination, haven't read obviously but I've heard this is towards the top of the LitRPG/Cardgame genre. It's at the upper end of what I'd think is an acceptable length, though:

Jake's Magical Market
by J.R. Mathews
Meddling gods. A magical card system. An apocalypse no one could have predicted.

Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that?

When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strange magical card system that gives them magical powers.

Jake, wasting his day slacking off in the cooler, as he usually did, found himself alone in a completely new and very dangerous world. Can he learn to survive? Can he collect enough cards and create a good enough deck to fight back against the monsters that have overtaken his former home? And why are these strange people that look a lot like elves knocking on the door of the market he is hiding in and asking to buy some of his goods?

The gods may have stacked the deck against him, but Jake just might have a few cards up his sleeve that will help him survive.

 

[Agent23]

I am interested.
Count me in, too!

 

[Bear Ribs]

Does anybody else want to throw down any recommendations for books? I'm planning to start a new thread will a poll for people to vote on the book they want but if there's only one nomination it's going to be a mighty sad poll.

 

[Agent23]

This is kinda old, but I never read Armor and I also need to read the Witcher at some point.

 

[Lord Sovereign]

The First Witcher book, "The Last Wish", might actually be a good one.

"Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin.

Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth."

It's essentially a collection of short stories, somewhat linked together, that introduce us to the character of Geralt of Rivia, the world he inhabits, and the themes of his story.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

This is kinda old, but I never read Armor and I also need to read the Witcher at some point.

I've always felt that Armor is an exceptional read, and I highly recommend it.

 

[Agent23]

What I'd really like to read is a fantasy involving assassins and/or thieves.
Think something like the Vlad Taltos or Locke Lamora series.

 

[Terthna]

Does anybody else want to throw down any recommendations for books? I'm planning to start a new thread will a poll for people to vote on the book they want but if there's only one nomination it's going to be a mighty sad poll.

What are the rules regarding suggesting books that are long out of print? Because mine would be Illusion by Paula Volsky, a book I remember being one of my favorites as a child. It's basically a fantasy version of the French Revolution, told from the perspective of a young girl who's a member of the soon-to-be-ousted nobility. Unfortunately it was never released digitally (not officially at least), and the last printing was in 1993.

 

[Agent23]

What are the rules regarding suggesting books that are long out of print? Because mine would be Illusion by Paula Volsky, a book I remember being one of my favorites as a child. It's basically a fantasy version of the French Revolution, told from the perspective of a young girl who's a member of the soon-to-be-ousted nobility. Unfortunately it was never released digitally (not officially at least), and the last printing was in 1993.

Reminds me of the premise of the Gunpowder Mage, was it.

 

[Bear Ribs]

What are the rules regarding suggesting books that are long out of print? Because mine would be Illusion by Paula Volsky, a book I remember being one of my favorites as a child. It's basically a fantasy version of the French Revolution, told from the perspective of a young girl who's a member of the soon-to-be-ousted nobility. Unfortunately it was never released digitally (not officially at least), and the last printing was in 1993.

Well, the point is for us all to read the book at the same time so I can't see that something so hard to find being a good idea specifically for the book club itself. Definitely something I'm going to look for to get a personal copy though.

 

[posh-goofiness]

The high seas are always an option. I throw this book (series) into the ring:
Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1)
Pandora's Star(Commonwealth Saga #1) by Peter F. Hamilton

The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.

Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.

Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

 

[Terthna]

Well, the point is for us all to read the book at the same time so I can't see that something so hard to find being a good idea specifically for the book club itself. Definitely something I'm going to look for to get a personal copy though.

It's not that difficult. Used copies are relatively easy to find online; and as posh-goofiness points out, there are other ways. Heck; I found myself a less than legitimate digital copy a few years ago, even though I do actually own it in paperback form.

 

[Bear Ribs]

Fair enough then, go ahead and nominate it and if people think they can find copies, perhaps they'll vote for it.

So at this point we have nominated:
Jake's Magical Market by J.R. Mathews
The Last Wish, Introducing the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Armor by John Steakley
Pandora's Star(Commonwealth Saga #1) by Peter F. Hamilton
Illusion by Paula Volsky

Let me know if I missed any. This is enough to get us started and a reasonable cross-section of genres. I propose that tomorrow I throw up a new thread for Book Club #1 with a poll for the final choice, and we run it until the 15th giving everybody about a week to vote for their selection and making the timing simple.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

Let's see...things I recommend people read...

the Janissaries by Jerry Pournelle
the Belgariad by David Eddings
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (definitely Tolkien inspired, but still original)
Armor by John Steakley (previously mentioned by @Agent23 )
Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff

 

[Bear Ribs]

Uh, let's limit it to one rec per person at a time so we don't get so many the poll can't hold all the nominations.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

Uh, let's limit it to one rec per person at a time so we don't get so many the poll can't hold all the nominations.

Then I'll go with Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff as my recommendation.

"Matt didn't know the scrap of parchment was a trap. So he read the runes — and found himself on a world where reciting poetry verses worked magic. His first effort got him locked in a dungeon by the evil sorcerer Malingo. Trying for light, he brought forth a fire-breathing, drunken dragon, who told him Princess Alisande, rightful ruler of Merovence, was also held in the dungeon.

Naturally, he had to free her, himself, and the dragon, using poetry lifted from Shakespeare. And because she was young and beautiful, he swore to serve as her wizard. Then he learned that his job as wizard was to fix it so the three of them could overcome all the dark magic and armies of Malingo!"

 

[Bear Ribs]

Alright, New Thread is up and ready for your votes.

https://www.the-sietch.com/index.php?threads/book-club-thread-1.9183/